It is known that autonomous cooking apparatuses exist in the home, comprising a support body and a container that can be selectively inserted into and removed from the support body.
Types of cooking apparatuses are known, which have an integrated mixing device, possibly replaceable by other tools, for example shredders or mincers, and heating means associable both with the lower part, or base, and also with the upper part, or lid, of the container, and possibly ventilation or heat transfer means, also associable with the lid, able to perform a wide range of recipes autonomously, that is, eliminating human intervention as much as possible.
It is also known that autonomous cooking apparatuses of this type, also indicated by the term “dry fryer”, are very versatile as they allow to obtain a plurality of recipes according to the type of food, the combination of the foods and the particular cooking modes adopted.
For example, the different cooking modes, also programmable, that can be performed by this type of cooking apparatus are stews, roasts, dry frying, simple reheating, sautéed dishes, browning, or rapid cooking in general.
However, due to their structure and functioning principle, known cooking apparatuses of this type are not generally conceived to also perform steam cooking or boiling in general.
The patent application US-A-2005/223906 describes an autonomous apparatus for cooking food comprising a base body provided with a main heating device, a lid, provided with a secondary heating element, and a mixing device. The lid is associated with the base body and the base body houses a removable container. Furthermore, in correspondence with a coupling edge, the lid or the container has at least one sealing packing to define a cooking chamber.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,590,583 and CN 102 499 572 describe other state-of-the-art cooking apparatuses.
Other types of cooking apparatuses exist, with different conception and functions, which do not provide mixing devices cooperating with heat transfer means and/or heating elements installed in the lid and which therefore are not able to perform oven cooking or dry frying, or roasts or suchlike. For example, apparatuses of this known type like multi-cookers are only able to perform steam cooking, boiling or suchlike.
As indicated above, the cooking apparatus provides a removable container and a lid which, when closed, creates the environment suitable to obtain the cooking chamber.
However, cooking apparatuses of the dry fryer type do not guarantee an effective seal of the steam and humidity, even with the lid in the closed position on the container.
Furthermore, when in known apparatuses a certain seal is obtained with the lid closed, there is a risk of an excessive increase in pressure inside the container.
One purpose of the present invention is to obtain an autonomous apparatus for cooking food able to extend the range of types of cooking performable compared with known cooking apparatuses of the same type.
Another purpose is to obtain an autonomous apparatus for cooking food able to allow to prevent increases in pressure inside the container to determine safe cooking conditions.
The Applicant has devised, tested and embodied the present invention to overcome the shortcomings of the state of the art and to obtain these and other purposes and advantages.